Ginkgo Bioworks Explained

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc.
Type:Public company
Traded As: (Class A)
Industry:Biotechnology
Predecessors:-->
Successors:-->
Founded: in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Founders:Tom Knight, Jason Kelly, Reshma Shetty, Barry Canton, Austin Che
Hq Location City:Boston, Massachusetts
Hq Location Country:U.S.
Areas Served:-->
Key People:Shyam Sankar (Chair Board of Directors), Jason Kelly (CEO)
Owners:-->
Num Employees:1,218 (December 31, 2023)
Footnotes:[1]

Ginkgo Bioworks is an American biotech company founded in 2008 by five scientists from MIT,[2] headed by Jason Kelly. The company specializes in using genetic engineering to produce bacteria with industrial applications for other biotech companies, saving other companies the cost of reproducing the initial stages of design in synthetic biology.[3] [4] [5] [6] The self-proclaimed "Organism Company" was one of the world's largest privately held biotech companies,[7] valued at $4.2 billion in 2019.[8] It raised $290 million in September and $350 million in October of that year. Ginkgo Bioworks went public on the New York Stock Exchange via a SPAC merger on September 17, 2021.

History

In 2014, Ginkgo was the first biotechnology company to join the Y Combinator start-up accelerator program.[9]

On 16 December 2020, it was reported that Ginkgo Bioworks would acquire the primary assets of Novogy's Microbial Engineering Platform.[10] 2020 also saw the company acquire property worth $25 million from Marcus Partners for the construction of a new 219,000 square foot laboratory building, after razing existing structures, located in the Raymond L Flynn Marine Park. As of 2021, the company also occupied 200,000 square feet of the Innovation and Design Building (aka IDB) in the Park. Ginkgo also occupied facilities in Cambridge, where most MIT-spin outs resided at the time.

Growth of Ginkgo up to 2021 had been driven by "robust venture capital funding" and entry into the COVID-19 testing market. This included $45 million from Viking Global in 2015.

On 11 May 2021, Ginkgo Bioworks announced plans of going public through a merger with SPAC Soaring Eagle at a $17.5 billion valuation.[11]

On 14 May 2021, Ginkgo announced its new ticker for the NYSE will be "DNA". The ticker was previously used by Genentech, who stopped using the ticker after they were acquired by Roche.[12] Trading began on September 17, 2021.[13] The investment management firm Baillie Gifford became the largest shareholder (15%) with the purchase of 167.75 million shares on 31 March 2022.[14]

On 14 March 2022, it was reported that Ginkgo Bioworks signed a Definitive Agreement to Acquire FGen AG, a leading bioengineering company and its proprietary ultra-high-throughput screening platform.[15]

On 6 June 2022, it was reported that Ginkgo Bioworks has acquired assets from Bitome, an Integrated Metabolite Monitoring Platform.[16]

On 25 July 2022, Ginkgo Bioworks agreed to acquire Zymergen for $300 million in an all-stock deal.[17]

On 27 July 2022, it was reported that Ginkgo Bioworks would acquire Bayer's Biologics Research & Development site, located in West Sacramento. Ginkgo will enter into a new multi-year platform collaboration with Bayer. The deal includes the integration of the R&D platform assets from Joyn Bio, a joint-venture between Leaps by Bayer investments and Ginkgo Bioworks.[18]

On 4 October 2022, it was reported that Ginkgo Bioworks would acquire France-based adaptive laboratory evolution instruments developer Altar and California-based Circularis to strengthen capabilities in cell and gene therapy.[19] [20] [21]

In October 2022, Bloomberg News reported that Ginkgo Bioworks partnered with Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity to create a software tool to help detect when biological organisms have been genetically engineered. The tool known as ENDAR (short for Engineered Nucleotide Detection and Ranking) could be used to provide an early warning of bioweapons and other man-made biological threats.[22]

Fraud allegations

On 6 October 2021, a market research firm published a report accusing Ginkgo of embellishing its revenue in a complex scheme highly dependent on related-party transactions.[23] The report prompted an inquiry into Ginkgo by the United States Department of Justice.[24] In November 2021, Ginkgo was sued in a shareholder lawsuit alleging it misrepresented its revenue sources in statements regarding its merger with a Special-purpose acquisition company.[25] As of 2021, the company could not name a single significant product that is manufactured and sold using its organisms.[26]

In March 2023, the former Attorney General of Louisiana launched an investigation into the officers and directors of Ginkgo.[27]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. 2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K) . 13 March 2023 . 31,F-4,F-5.
  2. News: Logan . Tim . 3 April 2021 . Ginkgo Bioworks aims to keep growing with new building in Seaport . D1 . . 23 December 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  3. Molteni . Megan . 14 September 2017 . With Designer Bacteria, Crops One Day Could Fertilize Themselves . live . . https://web.archive.org/web/20171205093041/https://www.wired.com/story/with-designer-bacteria-crops-could-one-day-fertilize-themselves/ . 5 December 2017 . 4 December 2017.
  4. News: Herper . Mathew . 8 June 2016 . Boston Startup Raises $100 Million To Use Synthetic Biology To Design Microbes For Industry . . live . limited . 4 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160609001913/https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2016/06/08/boston-startup-raises-100-million-to-use-synthetic-biology-to-design-microbes-for-industry/#4f67028d34c4 . 9 Jun 2016.
  5. News: Adams . Susan . 14 September 2017 . Bayer And Ginkgo Bioworks, A Startup, Aim To Make Crops Produce Their Own Nitrogen Fertilizer . . live . limited . 4 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171205093105/https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2017/09/14/new-venture-aims-to-make-crops-produce-their-own-nitrogen-fertilizer/ . 5 December 2017.
  6. News: Weisman . Robert . 29 September 2016 . Ginkgo Bioworks opens production site for custom cells . . subscription . 4 December 2017.
  7. News: Spalding . Rebecca . 9 October 2019 . Ginkgo Bioworks raises $350 million fund for biotech spinouts . en . . live . 7 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191107211234/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ginkgobio-fundraising-idUSKBN1WO1U9 . 7 November 2019.
  8. News: Weber . Joel . 6 November 2019 . Ginkgo Bioworks CEO Wants Biology to Manufacture Physical Goods . . subscription . 7 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191109035053/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-11-06/ginkgo-bioworks-ceo-wants-biology-to-manufacture-physical-goods . 9 November 2019 . bot: unknown .
  9. News: Kirsner . Scott . 24 July 2015 . Dollars and scents . C4 . . 23 December 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  10. Web site: Price . Thomas . 9 January 2021 . Startup Novogy Acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210109203726/https://startupsavant.com/news/ginkgo-novogy . 9 January 2021 . 21 December 2022.
  11. News: Nishant . Niket . 11 May 2021 . Biotech firm Ginkgo to merge with Harry Sloan-led SPAC in $17.5 billion deal . en . . live . 12 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210511203016/https://www.reuters.com/business/legal/biotech-firm-ginkgo-merge-with-harry-sloan-led-spac-175-bln-deal-2021-05-11/ . 11 May 2021.
  12. Web site: 14 May 2021 . Taking Ginkgo Public on NYSE:DNA . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210515194119/https://www.ginkgobioworks.com/2021/05/14/taking-ginkgo-public-on-nysedna/ . 15 May 2021 . 15 May 2021 . Ginkgo Bioworks.
  13. News: de León . Riley . 17 September 2021 . Ginkgo Bioworks begins trading on the NYSE after completing SPAC merger . . live . 17 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210917135706/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/17/ginkgo-begins-trading-on-the-nyse-after-completing-spac-merger.html . 17 September 2021.
  14. Web site: Pan . Eddie . 7 April 2022 . Baillie Gifford Just Bought Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA) Stock. Here's Why . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221012122149/https://investorplace.com/2022/04/baillie-gifford-just-bought-ginkgo-bioworks-dna-stock-heres-why/ . 12 October 2022 . 21 December 2022 . InvestorPlace.
  15. Ginkgo Bioworks Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire FGen AG, a leading bioengineering company and its proprietary ultra-high-throughput screening platform . 4 October 2022 . en-US . Ginkgo Bioworks . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221004222417/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ginkgo-bioworks-signs-definitive-agreement-110000503.html . 4 October 2022.
  16. Ginkgo Bioworks Acquires Bitome, an Integrated Metabolite Monitoring Platform . 4 October 2022 . en . Ginkgo Bioworks . 6 June 2022.
  17. Web site: Saul . Derek . 25 July 2022 . Ginkgo Buys Embattled Biotech Firm Zymergen For Paltry $300 Million . limited . Forbes.
  18. Ginkgo and Bayer Sign Definitive Agreement to Build Agricultural Biologicals R&D Platform Capabilities . 5 October 2022 . en-US . . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221005111137/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ginkgo-bayer-sign-definitive-agreement-132506657.html . 5 October 2022.
  19. Ginkgo Bioworks Acquires Adaptive Laboratory Evolution Company Altar . 4 October 2022 . en . . https://web.archive.org/web/20221004222421/https://www.tipranks.com/news/press-releases/ginkgo-bioworks-acquires-adaptive-laboratory-evolution-company-altar . 4 October 2022 . live . Ginkgo Bioworks . 4 October 2022.
  20. LeMieux . Julianna . 5 October 2022 . Two Is Better Than One: Ginkgo Bioworks Acquires Altar and Circularis . live . . en-US . https://web.archive.org/web/20221005144800/https://www.genengnews.com/news/two-is-better-than-one-ginkgo-bioworks-acquires-altar-and-circularis/ . 5 October 2022 . 5 October 2022.
  21. Ginkgo Bioworks Acquires Circularis to Strengthen Capabilities in Cell and Gene Therapy . 2022-10-04 . en . . Ginkgo Bioworks . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221004222420/https://www.tipranks.com/news/press-releases/ginkgo-bioworks-acquires-circularis-to-strengthen-capabilities-in-cell-and-gene-therapy . 4 October 2022.
  22. News: Griffin . Riley . 17 October 2022 . Ginkgo Is Trying to Detect Future Man-Made Biological Threats . . live . limited . https://archive.today/20221018034503/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-17/ginkgo-is-trying-to-detect-future-man-made-biological-threats . 18 October 2022.
  23. Web site: Ginkgo Bioworks Hit After Short Seller Claims Business Model a 'Shell Game' . Doctor . Vanessa . 7 October 2021 . Biospace . 14 March 2024.
  24. Web site: Ginkgo Bioworks says it received inquiry from DOJ after short seller report . Lokuwithana . Dulan . 15 November 2021 . SeekingAlpha . 14 March 2024.
  25. Web site: Biotech Ginkgo sued over revenue statements for $15 bln SPAC deal . Jackson . Sierra . 19 November 2021 . Reuters . 14 March 2024.
  26. Web site: Is Ginkgo's synthetic-biology story worth $15 billion? . Regalado . Antonio . 24 August 2021 . MIT Technology Review . 14 April 2024.
  27. Web site: GINKGO BIOWORKS INVESTIGATION INITIATED by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates the Officers and Directors of Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. - DNA . 25 March 2023 . BusinessWire . 14 March 2024.

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